Google regularly releases algorithm updates that can force you to change your SEO strategy quite dramatically. The latest news is that they’re planning on releasing an update called Penguin.
What does this mean for you if you own a business and have a website that you use to promote what you do? Continue reading for a few tips on how you can go about preparing for Google’s Penguin update so you can make the most of this new algorithm.
Focus on Anchor Diversity
Anchors should be thought of as accessories on your website. They’re meant to add value to your content, but there shouldn’t be so many anchors that they overtake the content itself. Avoid over-optimising your site and instead choose anchor texts carefully, making sure to diversify them.
Rather than using too many anchors, and too many anchors stuffed with keywords, opt for a natural approach that’s easy to read and won’t be frowned upon by Google’s new update. Achieve this by using a combination of long-tail keywords, URLs, branded links, and non-descriptive keywords, rather than merely using exact match anchors.
Fix Your Internal Links
In the same way that you want to optimise your external links, you also need to spend some time focusing on your internal links, which can help you when it comes to dictating to search engines like Google which pages on your site are related to each other. Avoid over-optimising these links as well.
Vary the anchor text using non-descriptive language rather than sticking with exact match keywords. You should also link pages that are related to one another. So, for example, if someone on page 2 would be interested in what’s on page 4, you should link them together. Then attempt to maintain a hierarchy as best as possible while matching consumer facing links with canonicals in the XML sitemap.
Evaluate Your Back Link Profile
Evaluate the quality of your back link profile by searching for low quality links and removing them, attracting high quality links from authoritative sites within your niche, and removing duplicate content from your own website.
You also need to be careful about links that you’ve placed on guest blogs, as Google is cracking down on those. If you’re on a guest blogging network, make sure the links are no-follow or include co-citations inside the posts to disguise your own link.
Other steps you can take involve avoiding site widget links, removing or at least reducing exact match anchor links, and removing links from spam sites.
Leave It to the Pros
If you’re having trouble with implementing the changes required by Google’s Penguin update, or you simply don’t want to have to deal with the hassle, you can always hire a company like Click Intelligence to help you optimise your site in the most modern and effective way possible.
With the tips above, you can rest assured that you’ll have taken a few of the necessary steps to optimise your site properly in preparation for Google’s latest algorithm update. In this way, you can be certain that your site will continue to rank high in search engine results.